


Gate Crasher

by Marian_De_Haan



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Mystery, Post Episode: s0105 The Web, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 05:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20353294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marian_De_Haan/pseuds/Marian_De_Haan
Summary: "Wait, Jenna!" Avon held up his hand. "If that ship is unmanned, we can salvage it. Even in that run-down condition it must be worth a small fortune.""You plan to board it, Avon?" Cally asked.Jenna frowned. "There could be a lot of dead bodies inside.""Entering a tomb?" Vila looked horrified. "You're mad."





	Gate Crasher

**Author's Note:**

> Published in Avon #25. Reproduced here on the author's behalf and with the author's permission.

At her position on Liberator's flight deck, Jenna became aware of a gentle snoring. She glared at Vila, stretched out on the central couch. Time to find a task for him, preferably an unpleasant one! About to wake him, she was distracted by the entry of Avon and Cally.

While Cally went to check something on the force-wall console, Avon asked brusquely: "Where's Blake?"

"In his cabin," Jenna replied, equally curt. Seeing Avon purposefully stride towards the corridor leading to the cabins, she quickly added: "He's taking a rest. I don't think he's feeling well."

Avon, dressed in a tunic in warm brown shades which contrasted sharply with his cold demeanour, shot her an acid glance over his shoulder. "Too bad."

* * *

"Blake!"

Lying on his bed, Blake groaned softly on hearing the aggression in the voice. He felt awful - the last thing he needed right now was a bad-tempered Avon making a nuisance of himself.

"Shall I come in or do you prefer talking through the door?"

Sighing, Blake brought himself into a sitting position; in the forthcoming confrontation he could do without the tactical disadvantage of lying flat on his back. Automatically he began to button up his shirt, then decided it wasn't worth the effort.

He summoned up the strength to speak: "The door's not locked." It never was. A leader should be available to his followers.

Avon entered. While the door slid shut, he cast Blake a cool, assessing glance.

"You don't look well."

"I don't FEEL well." Blake rested his head in his hands, wishing Avon would leave.

"In the medical unit is a computer for diagnostics," Avon said. "You should consult it."

"I did."

Avon frowned, clearly annoyed that the computer-facilities had been used behind his back. "So, what is its assessment?"

"A virus, something I must have picked up from those Decimas. I've taken the prescribed drug, I should be fine in a day or so." Blake gave his most mutinous crew-member an impatient look.

"You've not come here out of concern for my health."

"No, I've come to discuss our destination. Before we were re routed to that web-like contraption, you ordered Zen to set a course for Centero - a course we've now resumed. Contrary to your promise you've not explained your intentions, nor did you think fit to ask our consent. I've waited for the others to point out to you this omission. Since they seem prepared to give you the benefit of TRUST -" He spat out the word. "- it falls to me to remind you of the terms of our agreement."

Avon's frustrated tone betrayed a realization that without the backing of the others he'd either have to go along or leave. Blake smiled grimly to himself; having to deal with a stark realist had its advantages. Better give him the facts and get it over with. "Centero is a transceiver complex, like Saurian Major but more important."

"I know. It has a cipher machine for decoding Federation messages." Avon leaned against the door, face inscrutable. "You want to destroy it?"

"Yes, another blow to the Federation's communications network."

"Just blow it up? Wanton destruction?"

Blake gave him a scathing stare. "Don't tell me that's against your conscience."

"No, it's against common sense."

What was the man getting at? "You've got a better idea?"

"Actually, yes. We take out the cipher machine, THEN blow up the complex - destroy it so completely that no-one will realize the decoder's not there. With that machine linked into our communication computers, we'll be able to decipher all Federation messages."

Blake's irritation began to boil over. "Do you think I didn't contemplate that? How are we going to recognize that machine? Or get it disconnected, and rigged into our computers?"

"I can do that."

For a moment Blake thought he had not heard correctly. "YOU? Oh, come on, Avon! We're talking about highly specialized technology."

"I know." A tinge of triumph entered Avon's voice. "I've handled cipher machines before."

Blake felt a ripple of excitement. Whatever Avon's many faults, he was no idle boaster. What he promised, he would deliver. (But where had he got the chance to handle such equipment?) "Are you volunteering to accompany me to the complex?"

"You can do the reconnaissance. When you've found the cipher room, I'll teleport in to locate and disconnect the decoder. I've already checked the charges Liberator carries. They're exactly the kind we need to achieve total destruction."

"You know how to handle explosives as well?" A wide ranging expertise indeed! "Do you possess any other useful skills?"

"I'll let you know at the appropriate moment." Avon turned, reaching for the opening mechanism of the door.

"Avon!" When the man looked round, eyebrows raised, Blake asked: "Why?"

Hand poised above the button, Avon seemed to consider his answer carefully. "This ship is the most advanced technological achievement I've ever come across. I need time to study it. As I presume you're unwilling to postpone your ardent fight to destroy the Federation until I've finished, I'll have to make sure your exploits are going to be as safe as possible - out of pure self-interest. With that decoder we'll be able to monitor all the Federation's military movements. I don't have to spell out to you the tactical benefits of that, do I?"

His hand came down on the button. The door slid open and he was gone.

* * *

On the flight deck Jenna glanced distrustfully at Cally, still angry about Blake inviting her to join the crew without consulting them. Jenna was not keen on having another woman aboard - an alien, too!

"What have you been doing?"

"Helping Avon with his research of the teleport system."

Jenna didn't find that at all reassuring. What would Avon want with the Auron - was this another ploy to undermine Blake's command? "You don't have to do his bidding."

Cally walked away from the console. "I volunteered to assist him."

Jenna gave her a suspicious look. "Why? Don't tell me you like him!"

"No, but he is strong."

"Not as strong as Blake."

"And Gan's stronger than both of them together," Vila added from his couch. Rubbing his eyes, he lowered his feet to the floor.

Cally halted in front of the couches. "I mean mentally strong. Avon can be alone."

"I'd say he prefers to be alone," Jenna remarked, leaving her position. "What does that have to do with you?"

Cally sat down on the left couch. "On Auron we are never alone. Our telepathy binds us, our distress is felt and shared by all. Here there's no-one from my people to alleviate my loneliness. That makes it very hard to bear."

Settling herself on the last couch, Jenna still felt unsympathetic but she saw Cally had managed to gain Vila's sympathy.

"Avon's strength surrounds him like a cloak," Cally continued slowly, as if searching for words. "When I'm near him, I am somehow receptive to it. It makes me stronger, more able to bear my loneliness."

"So you tap into his aura and suck up his strength," Vila clarified.

"I'm not harming him," Cally said.

"Of course not," Vila agreed cordially. "Avon's indestructible - solid rock, inside and out."

Jenna tried to imagine Avon's reaction to being used by an alien. "Have you told him?"

Cally seemed surprised by the question. "Of course."

"What did he say?" Vila's face betrayed a keen curiosity.

"Glad to be of help." Startled, they all turned in the direction of the sharp, precise, unmistakable voice. Avon stood leaning against the doorway.

Damn the man! Jenna thought. How could he move so stealthily with those heavy boots? There was no telling how much he'd heard but she got the impression he'd been enjoying his eavesdropping tremendously. She opened her mouth for a sharp retort, when Zen announced:

+SCANNERS HAVE DETECTED A DRIFTING SPACECRAFT.+

They hurried to their positions.

"Put it on the screen, Zen," Avon said.

"Identify," Jenna added.

+IT IS A PERSONNEL CARRIER, REGISTRATION CODE XR 2011+

Jenna studied the screen. "I think I know this one. I recognize the dented tail fin, and that scratch over the length of the side. It belongs to an interplanetary mining company, based on the planet Xarros."

"That's a long way off," Vila said.

"It's not Federation, is it?" Cally asked.

"No," Jenna said. "It's an earth colony that gained its independence ages ago."

"And too far away for the Federation to bother bringing it back under its boot," Avon added. "You've encountered this ship before, Jenna?"

"Yes." She tried to recall the circumstances. "Some five years back. I was in trouble, a malfunction in the engine. They helped me out."

"Why are they drifting?" Vila wondered.

"They must be in trouble."

The sound of Gan's voice made Jenna turn to look at his position. She had not noticed him entering.

"They must have us in view by now," Avon said. "Zen, is any attempt being made to contact us?"

+NO EMISSIONS CAN BE DETECTED+

Avon frowned. "Gan, try to contact them."

They waited in silence.

"No response," Gan reported.

"Cally," Avon said, "see if you can pick up anything."

Jenna tried to stifle her resentment. After all, the Auron was supposed to be trained in communications, which was more than could be said of Gan.

After some attempts Cally shook her head.

"Jenna, what were they doing when you met them?" Avon asked.

"Shipping home a group of miners who had finished their stint. That's what that craft is used for, moving personnel."

Avon addressed the computer: "Zen, is there any sign of life aboard that ship?"

+SCANNERS DETECT NO HUMANOID LIFE+

Jenna began to feel uneasy. "Even if there are no passengers, the crew should be aboard."

"Maybe they died," Gan said.

"From a plague or something." Vila's voice betrayed his rising panic. "Let's get out of its way!"

"Zen, scan the atmosphere," Avon said. "Does it contain any pathogens or germs?"

+NEGATIVE. THE AIR IS BREATHABLE. THERE IS NO CONTAMINATION OF ANY SORT+

"Then what happened?" Avon stared at the image on the screen. "Did they abandon ship..."

"Or are they all lying dead in there?" Jenna finished his thoughts.

"Who cares?" Vila eyed the screen morosely. "Let's leave."

"They must be either dead or gone," Gan said. "Either way there's nothing we can do to help them."

"Gan's right." Jenna raised her voice. "Zen, -"

"Wait, Jenna!" Avon held up his hand. "If that ship is unmanned, we can salvage it. Even in that run-down condition it must be worth a small fortune."

"You plan to board it, Avon?" Cally asked.

Jenna frowned. "There could be a lot of dead bodies inside."

"Entering a tomb?" Vila looked horrified. "You're mad."

"You've heard Zen: the air is clean," Avon said. "If there are bodies, the recycling system must have filtered all putrefaction out."

Vila glared at him. "How do you know that machine's got it right?"

Avon walked over to the weapon storage wall. "Zen's scanners can be trusted. I'm going to take a look." He took a gun and held it out invitingly. "Cally?"

Nodding, Cally walked over to him and accepted the gun. Avon took another for himself.

Jenna watched with growing anger. So Avon was already exploiting Cally's dependence! And what right had he to take over command in Blake's absence? His obvious competence made it all the more galling.

She reached for the communicator button. "Blake, are you well enough to come to the flight deck? We've come upon a drifting spacecraft. Avon wants to go over to investigate it."

"Thank you, Jenna," she heard Avon mumble darkly.

* * *

Blake looked from the screen to his crew. Avon stood waiting, arms folded, a look of challenge on his brooding face.

/If you can't fight them, join them./ "I think Avon's right, we should take a look." Blake moved to the storage wall and took a gun. "I'll come with you."

"Backfired, didn't it?" he heard Avon whisper to Jenna.

"Jenna, you operate the teleport," Blake said, ignoring the tension between his crew-members. He fastened his gun-belt and made for the corridor, trying not to stagger.

"Blake!" He found Jenna in his path. "You can't go! You can hardly stay on your feet!"

"I'll manage." He walked past her. "Come on, Avon, Cally."

Entering the corridor, he could hear Avon say behind him: "I'll warn you when he's fainted, Jenna. You can bring him up then."

Blake gritted his teeth. He wasn't intending to faint.

In the teleport area he waited impatiently while Avon set the co-ordinates. The bay seemed to begin to wobble. Blake stretched out an arm to steady himself against the wall. Cally's green suit and Jenna's red tunic turned into indistinct blobs of colour. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Avon and Cally had joined him in the bay. Jenna was sitting behind the teleport console. Ignoring her look of concern, Blake said: "Ready, Jenna."

He saw her move the controls, then the image blurred.

* * *

A moment later the three materialized on the flight deck of the other craft. In a flash Cally took in the rows of large control panels, all bearing signs of intensive use despite looking well maintained. Old but still functional, she deduced. Taking a step towards them, she began to reel.

She felt Avon catch her.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Cally clutched at his arm to steady herself. "I don't know..."

A sound stopped her. Reaching for her gun, she turned in its direction, still holding on to Avon.

Blake had fallen to his knees.

Avon activated the communicator on his teleport bracelet. "Jenna, bring Blake up! Take him to the medical unit and make sure he stays there! Restrain him, if necessary." His last order sounded distinctly malicious.

Blake disappeared.

"Cally, are you all right?" Avon asked.

Tuned to him as she was, she could sense the concern hidden behind his harsh voice.

"Yes." She let go of his arm. "I just felt very dizzy for a moment."

"That could be your metabolism reacting to teleportation. It may have a different effect on the Auronar."

"Well, it didn't seem to affect me last time." Cally cast her attention back to her surroundings. She saw Avon walk over to a row of large, high-backed seats situated at what was clearly the main control panel. Coming level with them, he suddenly halted.

Cally hurried to his side, then stopped. In horror she took in the grinning skeleton in the central seat. It was still dressed in an olive green uniform.

"So they didn't abandon ship," she observed.

"This one didn't." Avon gestured at the single door. "Let's see if we can find any others."

* * *

"Thirty-three bodies," Avon said, joining Cally in the sickbay of the ship. "They must have died one at a time. The first were stored in the freezer. When that was full, they used cabins - but never more than three bodies per cabin, while there's room for six."  
  
They had found them, all laid out decently. The frozen ones still intact, those in the cabins reduced to bones.  
  
"Which seems to indicate," Avon went on, "that by the time they had a fourth body to dispose of, the state of at least one of the preceding three made them unwilling to enter that cabin again."  
  
He indicated the three forms on the three beds in the sick bay. Two were totally covered by blankets, the skull of the third stared into infinity with its empty eye sockets. "These must have been the last ones. By that time no-one was left to carry them away."  
  
"They seem to have died peacefully," Cally remarked.  
  
Avon nodded, grateful for her level-headedness. Considering she'd seen her comrades die on Saurian Major, this find must be very traumatic for her. "I can't see any signs of a struggle."  
  
"What about the one on the flight deck?" Cally asked.  
  
"The captain, judging by his uniform. He must have decided to die on his bridge." Avon allowed himself a slight smile. "An ancient earth tradition."  
  
Cally looked away from the skull. "It must have happened some time ago."  
  
"A few years at least." Avon turned his back to the beds. "Let's go back to the flight deck and see if we can find the ship's log. That may tell us what happened."

* * *

"So," Avon said, closing the relevant file on the ship's main computer. He took out the disk with the copy he'd made and pocketed it. "I was right. They died one at a time. And they never saw the cause."  
  
"But they felt it," Cally said, feeling sad. Listening to the captain's voice, clearly fighting to keep out his emotions, stating the gruesome events - entry after entry - had been a moving experience.  
  
"The captain was an astute man," Avon remarked. "His theory could be right. A parasite one of them picked up on that planet they visited. Invisible, but making its presence known by draining away the life force of its victim."  
  
Cally nodded. "And when it had killed its victim, it moved on to the next person."  
  
"Invariably choosing the weakest and most vulnerable," Avon added. "And instead of heading for the nearest planet to seek help, the captain decided to quarantine his ship, steering it away from habitation."  
  
"It was the right thing to do," Cally said. "He could not risk contaminating a whole planet. That must have been why he didn't send out a distress call."  
  
"They were too far away for that to have been picked up by anyone." Avon sounded distracted. He instructed the computer to rewind the recording a fraction and the last words of the captain sounded again:  
  
"I have sealed the ship and set it on a course to the rim of the galaxy. When the fuel is exhausted the ship will keep on drifting. Maybe the parasite will die with the last of us. If not, it will not get the chance to destroy any other humans. I have connected sensors to the hull. Whenever a ship comes within a range of five hundred spacials, an automatic warning will be emitted..."  
  
"Liberator's a thousand spacials away," Avon said.  
  
Cally looked with compassion at the bones of the captain. It was an eerie experience hearing his voice while standing next to his remains. "It must have been terrible for them, seeing their comrades die one by one, day after day - fretting about who would be the next, knowing in the end there's no escape." At least the death of her friends at Saurian Major had been quick.  
  
"Yes," Avon said curtly, as if unwilling to dwell on morbid thoughts. "That parasite must have died when it ran out of victims. According to the log, the symptoms occur almost immediately. We've been here for more than an hour. If it was still around, one of us would have been attacked by now."  
  
"But I WAS attacked!" Cally exclaimed, the horror of realization forming a cold lump in her stomach. "When we came aboard I felt something..."  
  
"You fell," Avon said. "I caught you."  
  
"Yes, and the moment we touched, your strength boosted mine." In horror Cally faced the inevitable conclusion. "With Blake in that condition, the parasite sensed I was no longer the most vulnerable person around." She shuddered. "It released me and threw itself on him."  
  
Avon blanched. "Then it's teleported with him to the Liberator!"  
  
"Apparently that thing can't travel on its own. It needs a host." Avon forced himself to view the problem with cold detachment. "Which means that WE are safe here."  
  
"Is that all you can think about?" Cally's eyes blazed at him. "They will die!"  
  
"Not yet. As long as that thing is busy on Blake, the others are safe. it will take them one at a time."  
  
"We can't let it happen!" Cally said.  
  
"We're not going to." Avon activated his communicator. "Jenna!"  
  
After a pause Jenna's voice came through: "Avon, Blake's in a -"  
  
"Bring us up!" he interrupted her savagely. "Now!"  
  
As soon as they were back in the teleport area, Avon switched on the communication channel. "Gan, bring Blake to the teleport bay. Immediately!"  
  
"He's too ill to be moved," Jenna said. "He's getting weaker by the minute."  
  
"I know," Avon told her. "That's why we have to hurry. Our only chance is to move him to that ship."  
  
Cally took his arm. "Avon, what are you planning?"  
  
"A way out."  
  
He was spared a further explanation by the arrival of Vila.  
  
"What's all the fuss about?" Vila asked.  
  
Avon took off his teleport bracelet and put it away. Holding his hand out for Cally's bracelet, he told Vila: "Go and help Gan bring Blake."  
  
Just at that moment Gan arrived, carrying the unconscious Blake.  
  
Avon snapped Cally's bracelet around Blake's wrist. "Put him in the bay," he told Gan.  
  
The giant laid down his charge very gently. "What's this all about?"  
  
"We've got to teleport Blake to the other ship. It's the only chance!"  
  
"But surely not on his own?" Gan said. "I'll go with him."  
  
"As you wish." Gan was expendable. Avon took a bracelet from the rack and tossed it over to him. "Hurry!"  
  
While Gan put on the bracelet Avon ran over to the teleport panel. As soon as Gan had positioned himself next to the prostrate form of Blake, Avon activated the teleport. They disappeared swiftly.  
  
Breathing a sigh of relief, Avon began to remove a panel from the teleport console.  
  
"NOW tell us what's the matter, Avon!" Jenna said.  
  
He looked up from the intricate mass of wires he'd uncovered, to meet her determined gaze. "All right." He was not looking forward to the confrontation, but it was unavoidable. Returning his attention to the wires, he said: "Open the communication channel, Cally. Gan needs to hear this too."

* * *

"You can't mean it!" Cally exclaimed. "Leave them on that ship to die? How can you be so blatantly selfish?"  
  
"What do you propose?" Avon snapped. She saw her words had hit a tender spot. "That we join them in death?"  
  
"It is monstrous. We must get them back!" Before anyone could stop her Cally rushed over to the teleport button. She pushed it violently.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"I disabled the teleport," Avon said. "None of you will be able to use it."  
  
//You are despicable, Avon!//  
  
His answering stare was ice-cold, totally unrelenting. "I won't restore it until we're safely out of teleport range of that tomb!"  
  
"But then Gan can't come back," Vila said.  
  
"You heard him." Avon folded his arms. "He chooses to stay with Blake."  
  
Gan had steadfastly refused to leave his patient.  
  
Avon's lips parted in a deriding smile. "A noble but pointless deed."  
  
"But once Blake's gone -" Vila began.  
  
Avon grabbed him violently by the shoulder. "Don't you understand, you fool? The moment Blake perishes, that thing crosses over to Gan." He shoved Vila aside. "That's why the teleport stays inoperable until we're well away from them."

* * *

"We can't let them die," Jenna said.  
  
Avon rolled his eyes; at least Jenna should have been able to see sense. "We have no other option."  
  
"There must be SOMETHING we can do," Cally persisted.  
  
"Like what?" Avon spat, unable to meet her eyes.  
  
"Well, you're supposed to be the one with the superior brain, aren't you?" Vila observed. "And it's all your fault! YOU wanted to visit that ship!"  
  
Avon dealt him an intimidating look.  
  
"Well, it's really Zen's fault, I suppose," Vila said quickly. "He told us there was no life aboard."  
  
"Computers don't make mistakes," Avon said. "Zen told us there was no HUMANOID life aboard. Clearly that thing isn't humanoid."  
  
"Then you should have realized Zen was misleading you!"  
  
Avon decided that the remark wasn't worth retaliation.  
  
"This isn't helping Blake," Jenna said. "We can discuss responsibilities later. First we must find a way to save him."  
  
"And how do you propose we do that?" Avon asked, not trying to keep the scepticism from his voice.  
  
He saw Vila's smooth forehead wrinkle in concentration. "We should give that parasite something else to suck into."  
  
"Are you volunteering?" Avon inquired sweetly. "How noble to sacrifice yourself for your beloved leader."  
  
With satisfaction he saw Vila pale. "What? No!"  
  
Jenna raised her voice: "Zen, what is the nearest planet with a suitable life form to lure that parasite?"  
  
+THE NEAREST PLANET IS ZERRANO. FLIGHT TIME IS TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN HOURS AT MAXIMUM SPEED+  
  
"Forget it!" Avon said. "According to the ship's log, that thing can kill a healthy person within twenty-four hours. And Blake's already weakened by that virus."  
  
"Then he's lost!" Gloom descended on Vila's face. "And Gan with him."  
  
So the message had got through at last! Avon saw resignation enter the gloom; at least Vila seemed now prepared to accept the inevitable.  
  
Not so the women!  
  
"We can't let it happen," Jenna said.  
  
"We can't, Avon." Cally took his arm. Her hazel eyes seemed to bore into him. //You know we can't!//  
  
He turned his gaze away. "We have no choice! Suicide is no option."  
  
"There MUST be a way."  
  
"There isn't, Cally...." His voice lost its conviction as an idea began to form. "Unless..."  
  
"You've thought of something?" Vila asked, hope flaring in his brown eyes.  
  
"It may be possible to simulate some kind of life form," Avon spoke slowly while thinking it through. "We have to find out what this parasite is receptive to." It might be worth a try, he decided.  
  
Avon held out his hand: "Cally, come with me to the medical unit!"

* * *

Cally sat down on a chair. While Avon connected some wires from the medical computer to Cally's head, Jenna asked: "How will this help Blake?"  
  
"That thing first went for Cally," Avon said. "When I touched her, boosting her resistance, it must have sensed the change in her and decided she was no longer the most vulnerable person present. So instead it went for Blake, who is weakened by that virus."  
  
Avon placed his hands on the computer. "This machine is programmed to register all body functions: temperature, heartbeat, everything. Now, if we can find out what it is in Cally's metabolism that changes when touched by my aura..." He frowned, not sure whether he wished to accept such intangible things as auras. He had just pretended to believe Cally because it made her dependent on him, which would make her a useful ally when it came to the inevitable clash with Blake. But for that parasite to notice her reaction, there must have been something to register. "We may be able to use that to rid Blake of that parasite."  
  
"Sounds potty to me," Vila said.  
  
Ignoring him, Avon asked Cally: "Ready?"  
  
When she nodded he activated the computer. "You're lonely, Cally," he told her, staying well away from her. "Utterly lonely. Cut off from your people, from their mental support." He watched the rows of data scrolling up on the screen. When it went blank, indicating the scan had finished, Avon pushed a button, then ran to Cally's side. He took her hand in his.  
  
"You're strong, Cally. You can fight loneliness."  
  
"And you're among friends," Vila joined in. "We're your friends. With us around, you need never be lonely."  
  
Again, data scrolled up on the computer screen, too fast to read. When it blanked again, Avon swiftly disconnected the wires. Leaving it to Jenna to help Cally to her feet, he began to program the computer.  
  
Vila came to look over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Instructing the computer to list any differences between the first and second scan."  
  
"You're not a doctor."  
  
"I can read computer data." Avon pointed at the screen. "There - electrical pulses in the brain. It's the only change, they are stronger and more frequent the second run." Trying to suppress his excitement, he turned to the women. "I can build a device emitting these kind of pulses, but weaker and slower than the  
ones in Cally's first scan. If we put the device next to Blake, that thing might detect it and decide to cross over to investigate."  
  
Jenna looked sceptical. "It already has its teeth in Blake. Why should it want to let him go before it has finished?"  
  
"It did, once," Cally said, sudden hope colouring her voice. "The captain mentioned it in the log."  
  
Avon nodded, remembering the entry. "The parasite was busy on one person when another suddenly fell ill. Immediately, it moved to him, and its earlier victim began to recover."  
  
"They were relieved," Cally said. "They thought it meant that the thing could be survived."  
  
"But after twenty hours," Avon went on, "when the sick man had died, the parasite went back to its original victim."  
  
"Even so," Jenna persisted, "I can't see any machine fooling that thing into letting go of Blake."  
  
"I agree," Cally said calmly. "But the parasite may be fooled into thinking the device IS Blake. If I approach it alone and vulnerable, I can lure it away from Blake. Then you teleport Blake back to Liberator, Jenna, while Avon puts the device in his place."  
  
Listening to her in growing alarm, Avon found her eyes on him.  
  
"Then we combine our strength, Avon. The parasite should register the change in me and go back to where it thinks it has left Blake."  
  
"No! This is stupid!" But her gaze was unyielding.  
  
"For that to work, Avon's device has to be more than just a transmitter imitating some brain pulses," Jenna remarked.  
  
"I can add a heartbeat and temperature like Blake's," Avon said, gratefully escaping into concentrating on practicalities. "Gan can measure them for us; there must be instruments in the sick bay."  
  
Jenna nodded slowly. "It's worth trying."  
  
"I doubt if the parasite will be fooled long," Cally told her. "So you must bring us back at once when Avon gives you the word."  
  
"We will," Jenna said grimly. "And then we'll blow that ship to pieces!"  
  
Avon turned to Cally, face set. "You do realize that if it fails - if you can't get rid of that thing - I'll have to leave you there to die?" He grabbed her arm. "I'll do it, Cally! I'm not willing to sacrifice my life for you or anyone else!"  
  
//I trust you, Avon.//  
  
It hit him like a salvo from a firing squad. Abruptly he let her go.  
  
"Let's get on with it!" With long strides he made for the storage hold for the electrical supplies.

* * *

Vila eyed the contraption - a tube about six inches long - with a critical gaze. "It doesn't look like much."  
  
"Will it work?" Jenna asked.  
  
"Yes," Avon said.  
  
Watching him beginning to repair the teleport, Vila didn't feel reassured. "But we have no guarantee that it'll fool the parasite, do we?"  
  
"No." Avon could be irritatingly monosyllabic.  
  
"Then we should call off the operation!" Vila had had time to think things through. "Suppose that thing teleports up with Blake and jumps on me!"  
  
Avon didn't look up from his task. "Don't worry, Vila. You're probably too weak for the parasite to notice you."  
  
"Oh, very funny!" Vila felt near to tears. Why did nobody ever listen to him? "We should go, I tell you!"  
  
Jenna spoke into the communicator: "Gan, we're nearly ready. Avon's mending the teleport now."  
  
"Tell him to hurry." Gan sounded grim. "Blake won't last much longer."  
  
Avon connected the last loose wires. "That's it." He picked up his device.

"Come on, Cally!"  
  
With sinking heart Vila saw them take up position in the teleport bay.

* * *

Gan had made Blake comfortable on a bunk in one of the empty cabins. As soon as she entered with Avon, Cally knelt down beside the bunk. Concentrating, she tried to make herself as vulnerable as possible.  
  
Being prepared this time, she could feel the presence enter her brain - probing first, then settling. Suddenly it seemed to fill her head. It did not hurt, just made her very, very tired. From afar, she could vaguely hear Avon's voice: "Bring them up!"  
  
Heaviness descended on her limbs, paralyzing her. Her eyes fell closed. She could still hear, though, recognizing the sound of the teleportation.  
  
Suddenly she knew that the parasite would not be fooled, that it could sense the difference between Avon's device and a living being. It would not let go of her, feeding off her life force until that was exhausted and she would die.  
  
She felt strangely calm. Life seemed no longer important. Even the prospect of dying alone and silent no longer held any dread. Nothing mattered now.  
  
Resigned to her fate, Cally waited for oblivion.

* * *

Avon put his contraption down on the bunk. Taking Cally in his arms, he waited for signs of her recovery.  
  
No reaction.  
  
"Cally! CALLY!" Desperately he began to shake her inert form.  
  
No reaction.  
  
So, he had to leave her.  
  
But he could not. In his mind she became another woman: his lover, tortured to death in a Federation prison.  
  
"Anna!"  
  
It had not been his fault. They'd agreed that it was safer for Anna to stay behind while he went to collect their visas. It wasn't his fault, but Anna had trusted him and he'd left her and she'd died.  
  
The guilt and self-reproach he thought he'd buried forever suddenly overwhelmed him. It was happening again! Another woman had trusted him and would pay for that with her life...  
  
No! Gathering all his willpower, Avon fought down his despair, replacing it with a cold determination.  
  
"Fight it, Cally!" he shouted. "You are stronger than that thing! WE are stronger! We fight and we WIN!"  
  
To his unspeakable relief he saw her open her eyes. She blinked. "It's gone, Avon."  
  
He was already yelling to Jenna to get them out.

* * *

They found Vila at the teleport controls. He eyed them warily. "You're sure you've got rid of our gate crasher?"  
  
Avon gave him a withering stare.  
  
"Yes," Cally said.  
  
Vila ran off to the flight deck, shouting: "They're back, Jenna."  
  
Suddenly aware that Cally was still in his arms, Avon let go of her. To hide his embarrassment he nodded pointedly at the communicator Vila could have used. "Typical!"  
  
He reached over and pressed the button. "Jenna, activate the force wall and blast that ship into atoms! Then set a course for Xarros."  
  
"Why Xarros?" The suspicion was clear in Jenna's voice.  
  
"Blake will want to bring them the news of their ship's fate personally. He's in no state for heroics on Centero yet, anyway."  
  
The Liberator rocked as the blast wave from the exploding ship hit the force wall.  
  
+TARGET DESTROYED+ came Zen's bland voice through the communicator.  
  
"And that thing with it, I hope," Avon said with feeling.  
  
"Yes," Cally said. "It cannot exist in space."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I could sense its feelings. It can survive without a host, but it needs oxygen. On its home world it feeds off animals that roam the planet in large herds. The beasts are very strong, it takes a parasite a long time to exhaust one. Since there are few parasites and many animals, the environmental impact is negligible. Humans give it much less sustenance. I felt its hunger..."  
  
"Don't waste any sympathy on it!" Avon took off his bracelet. "For a moment I thought it wasn't going to be fooled by the device."  
  
"It wasn't."  
  
Avon stood motionless, the bracelet forgotten in his hand. Cally could see the shock making way for alarm.  
  
"It IS gone, Avon." //I was not lying.//  
  
"Then how?"  
  
"We drove it away, our combined strength was too much for it. On my own, I could not fight it. Then your anger roused me."  
  
She looked at him, still feeling the surge of his anguish and despair and fury. Why did he pretend to have no emotions? (And who was Anna? Better not ask.)  
  
"Anger is a powerful emotion. I used it to link my mind to yours. The parasite could hold on to me but not to us both, so in the end it had to release me."  
  
Avon put his bracelet away with more force than necessary. Cally suspected it wasn't only from his dislike of being confronted with things beyond his comprehension.  
  
She smiled at him. "I knew I could trust you. You said you'd leave me when I seemed lost but I knew you wouldn't." Very gently, she placed a hand on his arm. "Thank you."  
  
Suddenly he smiled - mockingly, but she could feel the hidden hint of warmth. "Glad to be of help."

THE END


End file.
